The owner of Cajun Cannabis is in jail tonight.
Travis DeYoung is facing several charges including a felony charge for the manufacturing, distribution and possession of marijuana.
DeYoung’s business and truck were raided by deputies last night, just four days after the CBD store opened.
The Sheriff’s Office says they received several complaints from residents. Sheriff Mark Garber said this has been a fairly short investigation.
Tonight, Cajun Cannabis remains closed as the owner waits to go before a judge.
Around 11:00 Wednesday night, DeYoung called KATC to say he was handcuffed in the back of a squad car. He told Chris Welty the Sheriff’s Office was searching his truck.
Roughly 30 minutes later, he texted saying deputies were bringing him to his store. He says there were already Sheriff’s units there when they arrived.
Garber says under cover agents purchased products at the store and had them tested. The Sheriff says those products tested positive for CBD and THC oil.
“Those are listed as schedule one narcotics and under Louisiana state law, they fall under the purview of contraband and shall be seized by a peace officer,” Garber said.
The Sheriff says he’s 100% confident the items seized from Cajun Cannabis are illegal.
“Just because something is being offered in a store does not mean that it is totally legal to sell it,” said Garber.
We asked the Sheriff if other stores in Acadiana selling similar CBD and hemp products can expect to be raided.
“This is not something where we’re going to search every store that sells a CBD product and searching through inventory,” said Garber. “We didn’t rush into this and just go and arrest somebody because somebody complained.”
DeYoung is accused of selling narcotics outside of the store to undercover agents. DeYoung told KATC he was selling vapes online and delivering them to customers.
Garber would not specifically answer if this is what deputies found DeYoung doing.
“He was selling schedule one narcotic products outside of his store as well and delivering the products that contained THC,” said Garber. “If you’re going to do that, you should expect some law enforcement contact at some point.”
Many viewers voiced concerns on social media saying DeYoung was targeted by deputies.
“That’s absurd,” said Garber. “We target crime. We’re not targeting Mr. DeYoung or his business. We’re simply responding to complaints.”
We reached out to Alcohol and Tobacco Control for comment, but have not heard back.
According to a report in the Advocate, ATC and the State Pharmacy Board have issued public notices in the last few months suggesting CBD is illegal under Louisiana law.
DeYoung will go before a judge tomorrow morning at 8:00.
A GoFundMe is setup to help pay for his legal expenses.
Bond has not yet been set for DeYoung.
